AAAS Fellow Biography

Dr. David Rabson is an associate professor of physics at the University of South Florida on assignment to NSF through the AAAS for the 2012-13 academic year in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.? His work at NSF includes portfolio analysis and evaluation.? One aim of the evaluation is to determine return on research investment.? Dr. Rabson is also interested in understanding how funding opportunities lead patterns of research or vice-versa.

Dr. Rabson's research, broadly in the area of theoretical condensed-matter physics, includes mathematical crystallography, tribology of quasicrystals,? magnetism, biological data analysis, and statistical mechanics.? One of the perquisites of having worked in tiling theory is realizing an illustration from a published paper in porcelain on one's kitchen floor.? He has been PI or co-PI on external funding exceeding $1.2M.? Dr. Rabson has taught courses at almost every level, from introductory physics through graduate seminars, and was PI on an NSF grant funding undergraduate scholarships.? Dr. Rabson holds an A. B. from Harvard University and a Ph. D. from Cornell, both in physics.